Derelict: Halcyone Space, Book 1

by Lj Cohen

  The message ended. Micah swept his gaze across the bridge, not sure he could risk believing in the possibility of rescue. Ro stared into the ruined forward screen, her eyes narrowed, her lips pursed. A huge grin stretched across Barre's face.

  The deep voice boomed through the bridge again. "Transport vessel Halcyone, this is the Commonwealth ship Hephaestus. Hold your position. We are en route to your last established ansible coordinates."

  All three of them waited, not wanting to break the spell the looped message cast. When it started its third repeat, Ro turned to Barre. "Tell the idiot AI we're not deaf."

  Barre smirked at her before staring off into space for a minute, doing his music thing.

  "I'm going to reply." She glanced at each of them. "Anyone have any problem with that?"

  "Hell no," Barre said.

  Micah shook his head. If they could transmit, then some new possibilities presented themselves.

  "Commonwealth ship Hephaestus, this is Ro Maldonado on transport vessel Halcyone. We are currently adrift. Navigation is non-functional. All other systems stable. There are a total of four crew members aboard. One in need of urgent medical assist. We await your arrival. Maldonado out."

  "Any idea how long it will take for them to get here?" Barre asked, looking down at his unconscious brother.

  "No way of knowing how many ansible hops the message will take. Without current star charts, I can't establish our position. We have to make sure this ship stays put and hope Hephaestus has good navigators."

  For Jem's sake, Micah hoped they'd find them soon. And for his own, he just needed enough time to send his own message.

  He turned to Ro, trying for an expression that mingled hope and relief. She was the one he had to convince. "Are we done with the homicidal-AI-murders-the-crew part of our adventure?"

  She smirked, shaking her head.

  Micah smiled back. At least the Rotherwood charm hadn't failed him.

  "Yes, I think that portion of our program may be over."

  He let his shoulders settle. "If you don't need me here, I should double check the lab. Make sure I didn't forget anything before the folks with the big guns show up."

  "We're okay here. I'll buzz you if anything changes."

  "Thank you." Micah didn't even look up as he grabbed his micro and left the bridge. He quashed the unexpected and unwelcome pang of guilt that followed and hurried to his former lab.

  Now that Ro and Barre had done all the heavy lifting, it was a matter of pairing his micro directly to the ship's communication array without them finding out. He might not be the coding guru that Ro was, but in his years of playing dreadnaught and shuttle with the cartel, he picked up a few tricks.

  Besides, Ro wouldn't be looking for him and if he sent simple text with diplomatic headers, it wouldn't use enough bandwidth for her to notice.

  Setting up the comms program would be the easy part. Figuring out how to make sure his father didn't slip out of the net again was another matter. He typed a very careful message.

  Chapter 31

  Nomi's roommate brushed past her as she stumbled out of her temporary quarters in search of coffee. The short, red-haired woman mumbled something incoherent before collapsing in the lower bunk without bothering to peel off her uniform. Nomi felt a pang of sympathy for third-shifters everywhere.

  Clutching her filled mug, she wove her way through the crowded mess, looking for an empty seat. The one advantage to third-shift was the quiet.

  "Nakamura!"

  She stopped short and swore as hot coffee sloshed onto her fingers from the lid she'd failed to tighten down.

  "Over here!"

  Jenkins stood and waved from across the room. He pointed to an open seat. Nomi shook the coffee from her hand and joined him. "Any word?" she asked.

  "We'll find out soon enough."

  Their reassigned shift was set to start in twenty minutes. Jenkins frowned and Nomi felt the back of her neck prickle in warning. A shadow fell over her.

  "Good morning, Konomi."

  Maldonado's voice sent cold shivers down her spine. She forced herself to pick up her mug and take a slow drink. "Chief Engineer," she said, keeping her voice neutral.

  Jenkins frowned and tried to catch her gaze.

  "I hear you are the person to thank for establishing contact with my daughter." He placed a hand on her shoulder. Anyone observing them would see it as a friendly gesture. Nomi knew better.

  The coffee soured in her stomach.

  She reached up and covered his hand with her own and squeezed across his knuckles just hard enough to warn. He lifted his hand from her and stepped back. Smiling, she stood up and gestured to Jenkins. "Well, then I guess we have some work to do."

  Maldonado stepped in behind them and followed them from the mess hall. "Commander Targill has given me permission to observe in comms."

  "It must be quite a relief to know your daughter is safe," Jenkins said.

  "Yes, that ship took off with something very dear to me."

  That was an interesting way to phrase it. Nomi wished she could risk looking back at Maldonado. Well, whatever it was, it certainly wasn't Ro. What could possibly be on an abandoned ship worth risking your own daughter for?

  The door to comms opened onto a scene of quiet chaos. Odoyo's normally impeccable uniform was rumpled and her eyes were red. "Briefing in one, people," she said, her low voice cutting through the din of scattered conversations.

  "Let's make this quick," Odoyo said, rubbing her hand over her head. "Good work, last night." She nodded at the third-shift crew, still here, running on adrenaline, caffeine, and curiosity. "Hephaestus is closing in on the ansible coordinates where the message originated. The good news is since the ship has remained in the same sector as Daedalus, we don't think it has jump capability. The bad news is we've had to make the trip on interstitial or risk jumping past it."

  Nomi's pulse sped up. She had to make contact before the ship arrived.

  "Time is of the essence, people. We know at least one of them is injured."

  Nomi must have made a questioning noise, because Odoyo held up her hand.

  "We don't know who and we don't know how serious. We sent a reply asking for clarification, but haven't received a response. Keep your ears sharp. Any information may make the difference for someone's survival here. Dismissed."

  The third-shift officers made way for the first-shift crew. Nomi followed Jenkins to what she was starting to think of as her station and got down to a routine she could have done in her sleep. Except she was listening for Ro and anything involving Rosalen Maldonado seemed to turn into anything but routine.

  She could feel the intensity of the elder Maldonado's stare from across the room. As much as she wanted him gone, at least when he was here, he couldn't be snooping into her transmissions. Time flew by as they swept the area around their destination with long range sensors. Other comms personnel listened for passed traffic though the ansibles closest to Hephaestus. Expectant silence filled the room. Nomi wanted to pace, but this wasn't Daedalus and she wasn't alone in comms.

  "Need a break?" Jenkins asked.

  Nomi rubbed her eyes and removed the headset. "Can you cover me for five?"

  "Sure."

  Her neck cracked as she stretched first to the right and to the left. She used the movement to find Maldonado. He was talking to Odoyo, his back toward her. Nomi signed off her console, grabbed her micro, and walked from comms. At the door, she risked another look back, but Maldonado hadn't turned. She sagged against the corridor as the door closed and wiped her damp hands on her uniform tunic before taking out her micro.

  She typed quickly.

  Your father is after something on the ship. Be careful.

  Sending it was an act of faith, or at least a race. And even if she did get the warning before Hephaestus got there, what was Ro going to do about it? Nomi straightened her uniform and slipped back into comms.

  Maldonado stared at her all the way to her console
.

  ***

  Ro wrinkled her nose. A shower would be her first priority, even before she let them examine her ankle. Then maybe something to eat that wasn't an emergency ration bar. She'd even be happy to drink whatever crappy coffee they served on Hephaestus if she could enjoy it with Nomi. But thinking of her slender, dark-haired friend led to her father and the threat he posed, both to Nomi and to the rest of them.

  "How do we know Targill can be trusted?" she asked.

  Barre looked up from where he sat next to Jem. "What are you talking about?"

  Ro pressed her lips together.

  "Look," Barre said, "I'm probably the wrong person to be saying this, but they're here to rescue us, right?"

  That part was true enough. But it wasn't the entire truth.

  "Ro." Micah stared at her. "You need to tell him."

  She glared back and remained silent.

  "He deserves to know," Micah said.

  "Know what?" Barre asked, his voice a dangerous low rumble.

  "Fine. You may as well, it seems like everyone else does." She shrugged off Micah's smirk. "Easier if I can show you." Ro stood up and tested the stability of her cast. The pain was still a distant, small annoyance behind a cool numbness that circled her leg from lower calf to foot. "Come on."

  Barre hesitated by Jem's side.

  "If you want to know, follow me."

  Micah stood up to leave with them.

  "You, stay with Jem and monitor comms."

  "Aye, aye, Captain." Micah saluted her and sat down next to Jem.

  "Fuck you," she said, stomping from the bridge, her cast making satisfying thumps against the floor. Either Barre was behind her or not, but she wasn't going to look back or wait for him.

  "Slow down, Ro, you're going to hurt yourself."

  Even through the anesthesia, she could feel the pressure against her ankle. She stopped and waited as Barre stepped alongside her.

  "I'm sorry," she said.

  "What's going on here?"

  Ro led him to the storage bay. "You really want to know? There. See for yourself."

  ***

  Micah checked his micro for the thousandth time. No response could mean a few things, but the consequences of each were decidedly different. The diplomatic headers he used could have been terminated, at which point his message would have been rejected at the first ansible. A setback, but potentially not catastrophic. Or the message was delivered but his father could have gotten to Hephaestus's commander, which meant Micah was screwed. Or the ansible network was skipping either his message or Targill's reply like a stone across water and he just had to keep waiting.

  At least Halcyone hadn't flipped out over it. The bridge was silent except for the soft sounds of Jem's breathing, barely noticeable over the ship's air handling. He sat down next to the injured boy and didn't like what he saw. Gray circles pouched beneath his closed eyes. The skin on his lips had cracked.

  He tore off a piece of his salvaged row cover and soaked it in water. Dripping it over Jem's lips, Micah was relieved to see the boy open his mouth and swallow. He repeated the ritual over and over: Dip, drip, watch.

  "Barre?" Jem voice rasped through the bridge. "Barre, I really have to pee."

  "It's Micah."

  "Where's my brother?" His eyes shifted rapidly back and forth under his closed lids and his breathing quickened.

  "He's fine." Micah placed his hand flat on Jem's narrow chest. "It's okay. I can help you."

  "I can't keep my eyes open or I'll hurl."

  "It's okay," Micah repeated. He had helped his mother like this, at the end, when his father could barely stand to be in the same room as her. Micah helped the nurses and the aides, and then after a while, just did everything for her himself.

  But Jem wasn't dying. He couldn't be. He was just a kid.

  "Do you need help with your pants?"

  "No, but I can't stand."

  Micah brought over a beaker. "Okay, you can use this." He guided Jem's hand to the empty vessel. "I'm turning away so you can have some privacy. Just call me if you need anything."

  "Thank you."

  The familiar, pungent odor of urine brought back his mother's sick room: Vials and tubes of medication lined up in neat rows. The beeping monitors. The intrusive needles.

  "Micah?"

  "I'm here."

  "Can you take the beaker? I'm sorry. I think I spilled."

  "'No problem, kiddo. I got it covered."

  He pulled on gloves from his father's plundered supplies and cleaned up the small puddle on the floor. Jem's urine was dark and cloudy, further signs of dehydration. He'd have to let Barre know. "Do you think you can drink some more?"

  But Jem had fallen back asleep, his breathing slow and regular.

  His micro vibrated as he tucked the used row cover, the half-full beaker, and his gloves on the far side of the bridge for disposal.

  These are serious charges. We will require proof before proceeding.

  Between the forged seals and Jem's recording, he could give Targill all the proof he wanted. Let's see his father politic his way out of this one.

  Proof in return for immunity, a place at uni, and full-adult status.

  Ro would have to make her own arrangements. The senator was the bigger fish here, the one he could dangle in front of Targill and get the biggest concessions. For now, he had done everything he could for Jem and for his mother's memory.

  Chapter 32

  They walked back to the bridge in silence, Ro simmering in anger over her father. Barre hadn't said a single word since she showed him the weapons cache.

  "I didn't know what was inside. I swear it." But even after she found out, even after she understood that her father had manipulated her all along, she still kept working on the ship. She hated how he twisted her around so easily.

  "Anything?" she asked Micah, as the door slid open.

  "Nothing from Hephaestus," he said, before turning to Barre. "Jem was awake. I gave him some water. Helped him pee."

  "Thank you," Barre said, hurrying over to his brother.

  Micah looked away.

  "So now you know. Does it change anything?" Ro asked.

  "No. Not for us." Barre sat next to Jem and squeezed his hand. "Do what you have to do about your father. I don't care as long as my brother gets help."

  Ro stared at the floor, letting her hair cover her face.

  "Halcyone, this is Hephaestus. We are in ansible range and holding our current position. Do you copy?"

  It took Ro a few precious seconds to realize what they meant. She gripped the edges of the nearest console searching for even the slightest vibration that might mean the ship was preparing to flee again.

  Barre met her gaze. She tapped her index finger against her forehead. He looked off into the distance, listening to the AI's internal music.

  "Nothing. Quiet," Barre said.

  Ro exhaled heavily. "Hephaestus, this is Halcyone. We continue to be adrift, but life-support and critical systems are stable. We require immediate medical assist for one crew member with suspected head trauma." It was probably a stretch to call themselves crew, but they had become one over the past few days. 'Stowaways' didn't really fit. Neither did 'passengers'. "Advise you hold position. The AI has reacted unpredictably to the presence of another ship."

  The three of them waited. Even within a single ansible's range, there would be a certain amount of latency. Just how much would give Ro some idea of how far apart the ships were.

  "We noticed. Are your air locks functioning?"

  "Hephaestus, stand by, please." Ro grabbed her micro and scanned through the systems reports. Nothing mentioned external damage, but that relied on the sensors reporting accurately. "Micah, can you take a look at the main airlock?"

  "We're towing a big section of the temporary corridor, but we didn't see any sign of damage when we looked earlier."

  "Hephaestus, you'll have to hack away some of the station we're pulling, but it appears intact.
"

  The pauses between messages had shortened. She hoped they knew what they were doing.

  "Stand by, Halcyone. We have a medic on the way."

  "You should have them look at your ankle, Ro," Barre said.

  "Not a priority."

  He fell silent again, glancing at his brother. "What are you going to tell them about the weapons?"

  What was she going to tell them? She picked at a piece of ragged cuticle on her thumb with her index finger. "I haven't figured that out yet."

  "I have."

  Ro and Barre turned to Micah. He stood in front of the main view screen staring at them.

  "I made a trade. My father and the weapons for my freedom."

  Heat traveled from Ro's stomach, up through her throat and face. Clenching her fists, she lurched toward him. "You what?"

  Barre stepped in front of her and held her by her shoulders as she struggled. "Wait. Listen to what he has to say."

  "Why the fuck are you taking his side?"

  "Because what's in our hold is illegal as hell and we're the ones sitting on it. Are you that stupid? We have the weapons. We stole a ship. Do you have any idea what this looks like?"

  Ro stopped trying to push aside a solid wall of Barre and let out a pent up breath in a large sigh.

  "Are we good?" Barre asked.

  "Fine," she snapped, looking past him at Micah. He hadn't moved.

  "I'm sorry. I didn't have any choice. Once they find that shit here, they'll search every micron of this ship and no matter how well I cleaned up, they'll find evidence of the bittergreen."

  "The hell you didn't have a choice!" Ro crossed her arms and turned her back to Micah, afraid of what she might do if she had to keep looking at him. "Like father, like son, Rotherwood."

  I'm not anything like my father," he said, in a low, dangerous growl. "I thought you would understand."

  The door to the bridge opened and closed. Ro turned to the empty space where Micah had been standing. "Fuck."

  "Let him go."

  "Halcyone, this is skimmer alpha-niner. We can see your airlock. Attempting to dock."

  Pulling herself up to her full height, Ro decided she would damned well act the part of Captain, at least until they came to arrest her. "Skimmer alpha-niner, we are standing by."